Owners challenge findings of report into Evenwood care home

THE owners of a Teesdale care home have requested a review after inspectors classed the complex as “requiring improvement”.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) carried out an unannounced inspection at Bowes Court, Evenwood, in November.
The visit followed a number of concerns relating to staffing levels, staff skills involving professionals and the care management of people with long-term conditions.
The care home, at Stones End, was rated overall as “requires improvement”. Inspectors said the home was “not consistently safe” and “not consistently well-led”.
However, a spokesperson for owners Durham Careline said: “We are extremely disappointed with the overall rating that the Care Quality Commission has given to Bowes Court and we would encourage anyone who reads this article to also read the full report.”
Bowes Court provides nursing care and accommodation for up to 23 people with learning disabilities, mental health problems and physical disabilities.
During their visit, inspectors saw people receive their prescribed medication when they needed it.
Medication was also administered and stored safely with appropriate checks being made. Completed records also indicated when people had been given their oral medicines.
However, inspectors found that “as and when required” protocols were not always in place.
Recording systems used to ensure that people received topical medicines were found to be “inconsistent,” which, according to the report, “meant that staff did not have information about how to support those people with their medicines”.
Regular fire drills had not been carried out but a fire risk folder, complete with information detailing the help needed by service users in an emergency, was in place.
The inspection report states that there was no registered manager. A manager had been employed at the home for the three months previous to the inspection and was in the process of applying for their registration.
Audits had not always been carried out consistently and action plans detailing any necessary improvements were not always in place.
The facility was rated as “good” for effectiveness. Records demonstrated that care staff had received up-to-date training.
However, nurses had not received regular recorded supervision during 2016.
Inspectors were informed that supervision sessions with nursing staff had been booked in for the next 12 months.
Responding to the report’s findings, the Durham Careline spokesperson added: “Overall the report is really very positive about the home, which has been consistently rated as good by CQC at previous inspections.
“The issues that CQC have identified as requiring improvement are not in our view enough to justify the rating and there are a number of things that we intend to challenge as inaccurate.
“We have formally requested that CQC review their rating.”
He added: “All service users have a protocol. At the time of inspection there were two individuals without a completed protocol. This was due to them being new admissions.
“All medications could still be administered safely via their original prescription and medication administration record.
“They also had medication care plans in place which made reference to ‘as and when’ medication.
“We have no influence over the time it takes the CQC to register a manager and we think it is very unfair for CQC to rate us as requires improvement as a consequence of their own timescales.”
Manager Katherine Swainston said: “Bowes Court is an excellent care home and the care we are giving is consistently well delivered.
“I understand that the CQC will not give a rating above ‘requires improvement’ under the area ‘well-led’ unless there is a registered manager in post but I was surprised that this was applied to Bowes Court in this instance as the report acknowledges that at the time of the inspection I was in post and had applied to be the registered manager with the CQC.
“I hope the CQC will adjust the rating to more accurately reflect those things which I think are misleading in their report.”
A CQC spokesperson confirmed that any request submitted would be considered in due course.